Horses and bikes, but no F1 TV guru role for Schumacher

Now a free man, Michael Schumacher is enjoying his retirement in the most equine manner.

The seven-time world champion quit Formula 1 at the end of the 2012 season, and besides testing karts, the 44-year-old has found plenty of other things to fill up his life post-retirement.

"I have spent my time since January as I like best: a lot of time together with the family and being active. Being free and without any commitments is something I have really enjoyed," Schumacher told the Bild.

In his spare time, the German is also helping his wife Corinna, who has been breeding horses in Switzerland and on a ranch in the United States, and even going to the extent of promoting her horse blankets.

"My wife gave me full support for many years, so it is obvious that I am doing the same for her,” he said. "I can say at the beginning I did it for Corinna's sake - but now it's more and more fun. It's like most things: the more you get involved the more interesting it becomes."

Schumacher however has decided to stay away from Formula 1 for good ruling out returning to the sport even as a television pundit.

"First of all Formula 1 changes so quickly that even I am actually already a long way off. As a result it would be groping in the dark and that's not for me," he reasoned. "Secondly I would again be away from my family - I would be better off continuing to drive. That would be more fun."

The new F1 season begins this weekend and Schumacher will be "at home, watching TV" as the Australian Grand Prix unfolds.

He even clarified that he is not associated with the Mercedes F1 team either.

“Of course I am still very close to the team, but not in a function and not on the race-tracks – more from out of the sofa. I hope we can take credit for the work of the past years,” he said hoping that his input in the development of the car bears fruit this season.